Piece
by Lonersoforlorn
Summary: Uma accidentally gets left behind in The Enchanted wood and much to her annoyance she isn't alone. Will Uma find a way to get back to Auradon Prep? Or will she be trapped in The Enchanted Wood forever?


Harry's half asleep beside Uma, leaning on the bus window. He spent the whole day picking up random sticks, pretending it was a sword and play fighting with Gil. Now, he was tired out, a smile on his lips as he's most likely thinking of his hook.

Uma looks at her bare wrist that she's glad Harry didn't have a chance to notice as bare because of his half asleep state. She lost one of her bracelets. The most important one.

The two bracelets she didn't lose both have a teal bead strung in the middle. She wore one on each hand, securely on her wrists. Least, Uma thought they were secure but her losing the bracelet with one red bead shows that they aren't.

The bracelet with the red bead was different from both of the bracelets she still wore. Different because unlike the others it contained a piece of her oldest friend and her first mate, Harry himself.

Harry gave it to her years ago when they were kids. Weeks before he gave it to her they found a piece of paper in the backroom. A paper that said Uma's full name and birth date.

Uma had forgotten the date almost immediately. To Uma, birthdays were just a reminder of how long your sentence on the Isle Of The Lost is. A reminder of your suffering that you didn't even earn.

Harry didn't see it that way. He was terrible with numbers but he made Uma help him not forget. She helped him memorize the day by telling him it'll fall on the day the barge brings silver from Auradon.

The day came and Harry gifted her with those three bracelets. He even showed off the one he made for himself. He told Uma how he stole some of his sister's beads and at first, they were upset. But he told his sisters about Uma's upcoming birthday. About his desire to make his oldest friend a gift.

His younger sister, CJ didn't get it but she let Harry keep the red beads he stole from her. Harriet did understand her brother, Harry's desire to make Uma a gift, so she grabbed a bunch of loose strings from a drawer and taught Harry how to make a bracelet.

Harry ended up making way more than he intended but Uma loved them all. Harry was overjoyed by Uma's thrilled reaction at the gift. He even joked the bracelet with the red bead would be a constant reminder of him. A reminder that he'll always be Uma's oldest and best friend.

He said the last part with a little jealousy in his eyes. Uma had been busy at her mom's fish and chip shop lately. And any of her free time was reserved for her other best friend now sworn enemy Mal. Mal and Uma were supposed to play a prank at the barge that week on Cruella De Vil but Harry had called Uma away. Ironically, saving her from earning the nickname that will become the bane of her existence. But only for another month.

The bracelet had come in handy years later when Uma was trapped outside of the barrier. She watched as Harry stole fish, fished for himself, or sat on the dock looking bored out of his mind.

Uma always tried to get his attention. She called his name as he would call hers. Like her voice was the wind and Harry the sail. But he never heard her. Never turned around to see she was there.

That bracelet was the only thing that gave her hope during those lonely months. The only thing that told her that she and Harry would reunite soon enough.

And now it was gone. The piece of Harry who shielded her from succumbing to the idea that she'll never see him again. The piece of Harry she always gazed at when she swam along with all of the fish under the sea. The piece of Harry she knew her mom couldn't keep her away from. Uma needed that bracelet back.

Uma makes a sign to Desiree, one they always used back on the Isle. A sign that meant create a distraction which Desiree quickly does.

Uma slips off the bus and then makes a run for it. She heads back to where she thinks she saw the bracelet last and frantically starts to search.

Uma gets so into her search, she doesn't notice that someone had followed her. She doesn't even notice the sound of someone clearing their throat, trying to get her attention.

"Uma." A sugary sweet voice that could only belong to an Auradon girl says in a suspicious tone. "I don't know what you're planning but whatever it is I'm not going to let it happen."

Uma stops searching, her breath heavy with panic and clumps of dirt are sticking to her hand. It must've rained the day before which meant Uma could easily just use magic to find her bracelet. But sadly she didn't know any locator spells.

Uma slows her breathing, she pushes around the dirt, moving around any grass that could hide her bracelet from her sight. The Auradon girl didn't like being ignored, so she did what any person from Auradon would do. Loudly hmph until she finally got a response from Uma.

"Planning? I'm not planning anything." Uma places her hands on the dirt. It sinks a little because of the rain from the day before. Uma looks up and seems unsurprised to see the Auradon girl getting on her nerves is Audrey, daughter of Princess Aurora. Audrey's had it out for Uma since Uma officially became a student under King Ben's newest proclamation.

Audrey scrunches up her face and gives Uma a look that says she doesn't believe a word Uma says. "Oh as if there's not some magical artifact that you're trying to find to use to take over Auradon." Audrey peers over at Uma's hands which are still placed flatly on the dirt.

Uma wonders if Audrey was looking for a giant X in the dirt. But that would be ridiculous because everyone knows a pirate would never hide their treasure in the woods.

"Magical artifact?" Uma repeats dryly.

"Treasure? I don't know. I just know that whatever it is I'm not going to let you use it."

Uma rolls her eyes. She starts searching for her bracelet once again, she crawls over closer to the spot she grabbed the stick Gil was play fighting Harry with.

Audrey doesn't leave and much to Uma's annoyance Audrey's now impatiently hmphing again.

"I am looking for a treasure but it was mine, to begin with, princess," Uma informs, Audrey tightly.

Uma could just imagine Audrey's eyebrows knitted in confusion at her statement. "You lost something? You're like a pirate? Isn't it like their life mission to always find something?"

"I am a pirate." Uma corrects. She lifts up a heavy rock but loses her grip on it and it falls back onto the ground. The rock rolls over to the flatter part of it.

What was Uma doing? She knew there was no way the bracelet would be under a rock. Uma suddenly moves from her crawling position to one where she's sitting on her knees. She wipes the back of her hand on her brow forgetting that it was dirty. She could feel the mud on her face and lets out a groan in frustration.

"What did you lose?" Audrey wonders. Uma could almost hear the concern in Audrey's voice but she knew it was impossible the spoiled princess could ever be concerned for her.

"Why should I tell you that?" Uma replies in a defiant tone. Uma rubs her hands together and clumps of dirt that stuck to it fall off. Uma's fingers sparkle with magic from the moisture of the dirt. The magic that's trying to coerce Uma to say a spell. Now, that Uma thought about it there is something she could try…

Uma's seashell necklace suddenly starts to glow. Audrey lets out a yelp and backs a little away. Uma ignores her and pictures her missing bracelet. Focuses on the red bead in the middle.

Uma feels something pulling forward on her neck. She opens her eyes and sees her necklace trying to push forward. Uma takes off her necklace, holds it by its chain and watches as the seashell on it moves towards the direction of her missing bracelet's location.

"I knew you were looking for treasure," Audrey states, smugly.

Uma ignores Audrey and lets the seashell on her necklace lead her to her bracelet. The necklace leads Uma back to where the bus is-well should be. The spot where the bus was parked just earlier is now empty with only tire tracks in the dirt showing that it was ever there.

"The bus is gone! What am I gonna do?" Audrey cries when she realizes where Uma's necklace had lead them to. "I left my phone in there! I'm going to be stuck here forever!"

Audrey looks at Uma as if she suddenly remembers she exists. "And with a pirate at that!"

Uma wanted to comment that no one told the princess to follow her off the bus. That it was Audrey's own nosiness that caused her to be left behind in The Enchanted Wood with Uma.

"Calm down, princess. They'll notice we're gone." Uma assures.

"Will they?" Audrey asks, her voice doubting.

"Yeah, losing a princess is a pretty big thing."

Audrey nervously strokes her hair. "You're right. I'm a princess. People will have to care that I'm gone. So that means they should be back here any minute now."

Uma looks down at her seashell necklace pointed in the direction of where the bus drove off to. Did this mean Harry or Gil had her bracelet? Did she sneak off the bus for no reason at all?

And why didn't Desiree stall Fairy Godmother enough for Uma to sneak back on? Uma couldn't have been searching for the bracelet for that long. Could she?

Uma's magic suddenly stops flowing through her. Her seashell necklace stops glowing and she puts it back on.

"You really were just looking for something you thought you lost?" Audrey says with surprise in her voice.

"What?" Uma asks with a glare."Shocked I could value anything I own. Unlike, you princess where I grew up having anything of your own is rare so..."

Uma looks over at her wrist where her bracelet should be and frowns.

"Did your mom give it to you? That thing you own."

"No," Uma says and against her better judgment, she tells Audrey who did. "Harry did."

"Harry, your boyfriend?"

Uma jerks her head in Audrey's direction looking taken aback. "My what friend? I'm not dating, Harry! He's my oldest friend and first mate."

Audrey looks confused by Uma's reveal. "But isn't he always flirting with you?"

"Harry flirts with everyone. That's just how he is." Uma explains.

Audrey looks deep in thought."Yeah, but with you, it seems more genuine."

"How do you know that?" Uma asks, not even really understanding what Audrey means.

"I don't know," Audrey says with a shrug. "Sometimes in class, I notice him studying you instead of the board. I just assumed he liked you and you guys were together."

Harry didn't really do well in school, so most likely Audrey witnessed Harry reading off Uma's work and trying to inconspicuously copy it. Clearly, he failed but at least none of the teachers have caught on.

"We're not. And Harry doesn't like me. Not like that."

Uma and Harry have a game they've played since they were kids stuck watching her mom's soaps on tv. Harry would flirt with her just like the characters they saw on the screen though clearly using his dad, Captain Hook's most infamous lines that's made many ladies swoon. Uma would entertain Harry's flirtations and eventually reject them but never harshly as she could never hurt the boy she called her best friend.

But it was only a game. It wasn't real. No matter what everyone observed. No matter how much Uma's heart deceived her when it speeds up at Harry's words. No matter how close her and Harry would get and the urge to lean forward sprung in her. It would never be real.

"Are you sure?" Audrey says not believing Uma's observation to be true.

"Very." Uma answers.

Audrey isn't swayed by Uma's answer but she doesn't continue the conversation much to Uma's relief. They both stand silently for about a minute or two before Audrey can't take the silence any longer.

"We should play a game," Audrey suggests, her hands in fists as she lifts them up under her chin.

"A game? While lost in the middle of the woods?" Uma looks at Audrey like she's lost her mind.

"Yeah!" Audrey answers with enthusiasm. "There's this game my aunts and I play whenever we ride to their cottage from my family's castle."

Uma could say no but it wasn't like she had anything else to do. You know, especially with the whole currently being lost in the woods thing going on. Uma sits down on a large rock nearby that shows cars where to park and Audrey sits on another large rock next to the one Uma's now sitting on.

"I guess, we can play a game." Uma reluctantly agrees.

"Great! Okay, so this is how you play. First, you have to say a dream you have. Then after you share your dream you have to count to ten and then it'll come true! I'll go first."

Audrey says her dream which is to be the most beautiful princess in all of Auradon. She then closes her eyes and counts to ten aloud. After she's done counting she opens her eyes and lets out a gleeful scream. "My wish came true!"

Uma crosses her arms over her chest, already not liking this game. "And how do you know that?"

Audrey let's out what she thinks is a modest laugh but comes out very haughty. " Duh, I was gifted with beauty at birth by my aunts. So, of course, I'm the most beautiful princess in all of Auradon."

"Probably the most beautiful princess to have ever existed in the history of all princesses," Audrey adds in as an afterthought.

"You sure aren't the most modest of all the princesses," Uma mumbles under her breath.

"What did you say?" Audrey asks, her eyes daring Uma to repeat her statement.

Uma wasn't afraid of the princess whose voice was like icing on a cake. Layered with a sweetness that left a bitter taste in Uma's mouth. But Uma really wasn't in the mood to hear the princess rant about her beauty, so she decides to not repeat her statement.

"Nothing," Uma replies sweetly sounding just like an Auradon girl. Sounding just like Audrey herself. Uma shudders at the thought. She'd never want to be an Auradon girl. Uma was a pirate girl from the Isle through and through.

"It's your turn," Audrey informs Uma with a royal smile.

"I don't have anything I want to wish for."

Uma believed hard work was the way to achieve any goal. She would never rely on something as silly as wishes to achieve them. Well, okay, that was actually a lie. She would if the magic was right.

"Nothing. Nothing at all?" Audrey stresses the word nothing as if doing so will make Uma suddenly have a wish.

"Yup, nothing at all."

Audrey makes an incredulous expression."That can't be true. Everyone has dreams."

"Sure, I have dreams. But their not covered in sweet syrup and have woodland animals singing about them. I want what's mine."

"What's yours? And what exactly is that?"

"Atlantica," Uma says casually as if she didn't just declare her desire to have an entire kingdom.

Audrey gasps and her jaw drops. She touches her ears wondering if she's heard Uma wrong. When she realizes she didn't hear Uma wrong and Uma did, in fact, reveal she desired to have a whole entire kingdom she gasps again.

"That's King Triton's kingdom, not yours!" Audrey objects.

Uma holds back a laugh. King Triton hid his secrets well. No one knew of Uma's true identity. Of her mom's true heritage.

"Ursula, my mom is his sister," Uma reveals. "But I'm sure he leaves that part out when he's telling the story."

Audrey shakes her head in disbelief. "Ursula and King Triton are siblings? No. She's not even a mermaid!"

"They share a father and they were raised together in the palace. I'm sure there are pictures of them in old Atlantica history books."

"If she's his sister then that means you'd be a…" Audrey couldn't say the word.

"A princess?" Uma says, fluttering her eyelashes at Audrey.

"No...that's impossible."

"Because I'm what? A wharf rat? A pirate?" Uma's fingers sparkle with magic. "A sea witch?"

The magic on Uma's fingers fizzles out. The power she got from the moisture of the dirt was gone now. Now, Uma was back to her human state. Barely, even a sea witch at all but Audrey didn't have to know that.

"King Triton," Uma says spitting out his name in disgust. "He exiled my mother and took everything from her. Her inheritance. Her crown. Her voice. Then he made her the bad guy, so she became exactly what he wanted."

"Her voice? How did he take away her voice?"

"You know the story of Princess Ariel. He did it just like that. My mom was never the same after that. Least that's what the cook in our fish and chip shop told me."

Audrey shakes her head again still in disbelief at the whole situation. Unable to accept Uma's words as true she starts throwing out all of the good that King Triton's done.

"He always throws my friend Arabella the best birthday parties. Someone who throws parties that great just wouldn't do something like that."

"Whatever," Uma says, knowing that the conversation was going nowhere.

Uma plays with the seashell hanging on her necklace. A habit she's picked up ever since she assembled it with the help of her friend Gil. It was once broken into many pieces by her mother's brother but Uma had found it hidden away by Yen Sid on the Isle of the Doomed. This necklace has become a part of Uma. A piece of who she was. A piece of who she is. A piece of a life she's lost.

"It's been so long!" Audrey complains, even though it hadn't been that long at all. "Can't you just use your magic to poof us back to Auradon Prep?"

"Poof?" Uma repeats Audrey's word choice with distaste.

"Whatever it's called. Just use your magic to get us home already!"

"Listen, princess, I'm not one of your royal subjects, so watch your tone," Uma replies sharply.

"Pardon me?" Audrey says, her gaze widening. She looks at Uma with an offended expression. "I'm a princess."

Audrey looks at Uma as if her title has meaning. As if it would give Uma the urge to curtsy and beg forgiveness from Audrey. Uma rolls her eyes at Audrey's words not even bothering to give Audrey the pleasure of a response.

Uma tries to bring the spark of magic back to her fingers but nothing happens. She could grab chunks of dirt and strip them of their moisture to build her magic back up. But the amount of time it would take to gain enough to do a transportation spell that powerful would make it pointless.

Uma would rather wait for the bus to turn around.

Audrey, however, seemed to want to go back to Auradon Prep as soon as possible. "What's taking you so long? Why aren't we back at Auradon Prep yet?"

"Do you see any water nearby, princess? I'm a sea witch." Uma snips.

"Isn't there like water in the air or something?" Audrey states, lifting her hand up and waving it gracefully.

"It doesn't work like that princess. I need to have a body of water near me or no magic."

Uma's magic was more complicated than that but Uma wasn't about to reveal the secrets of her magic to some princess she barely knew. Or anyone for that matter.

"Can't you just use that?" Audrey says, gesturing to Uma's seashell necklace.

"Soul magic doesn't work for simple spells."

"So we're stuck here? Forever?!" Audrey screeches.

Uma lets out a noise of annoyance. "As I've said before, someone will notice we're gone."

"I wish Merryweather, Flora, and Fauna were here. They'd know what to do. They always know what to do." Audrey's voice is filled with sadness. She starts to count to ten. After she reaches ten she opens her eyes and frowns when her wish doesn't come true.

"Who?"

"They're my mom's aunts slash fairy godmother's. They're the ones who raised my mom."

"Oh," Uma says awkwardly. "You guys must really hate villains."

"My family doesn't hate." Audrey clips.

"So they're okay with the fact the daughter of the woman who kept your mom from her birthright is now her daughter's classmate? No, bitterness at all at how Maleficent got to raise her child but your grandmother didn't get to raise hers."

Audrey presses her lips together. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Uma smirks. "Your family's never thought about it that way, huh?"

Audrey turns on her rock to the opposite direction of Uma.

"I guess I can understand how your family feels."

Audrey turns back around. Her eyes are set to a glare."How? Villains don't love. You couldn't ever understand what a family is."

"The wharf rats are my family," Uma answers tightly. "And I wasn't referring to that anyway. I was talking about birthright, though in the end, your mother got everything stolen from her back."

"Birthright? My grandma missed my mom's first steps. She missed her first words. She missed my mom's whole life. Years she'll never get back. No one in my family cares about birthright. What we want is the time we've lost."

"Yet, your family still props themselves up with crowns. It's all about birthright with you royals." Uma places her hand on the rock she's sitting on and leans back.

"It's not." Audrey insists but then she lifts her hands up in defeat. "I don't even know why I'm arguing with you. You don't even have a family. You don't have anyone who loves you!"

Uma flinches but quickly recovers. "I told you, princess, the wharf rats are my family."

"Yeah? And what if you lost them? What if you lost years with them? Would you care more about lost time or would you worry about birthright?"

"I don't even know why I'm asking a pirate that question." Audrey mumbles

Uma remembers the time she went without her crew. Without her friends. She remembers watching Harry steal fishes, calling to him and him never hearing her. Never seeing her.

She remembers Gil hearing her but thinking it was just his imagination. Thinking she was really gone.

"I would be miserable," Uma admits, honestly.

"You would?" Audrey looks at Uma in shock. Realization dawns on Audrey's face. "You really care about them don't you?"

"My crew? Yeah."

"Mal told me things like love and caring for one another we're unofficially banned on the Isle. That she didn't really learn what love or a family was until she came to Auradon."

"I'm not Mal." Uma interjects already knowing what Audrey was going to ask."Back on the Isle, my crew and I always had each other's backs. It's how we survived."

"I'm sorry," Audrey says, sincerely. "I've never been that angry before...It was so wrong and rude of me to say what I said."

"You weren't wrong no one loves me." Uma tucks one of her front braids behind her ear. She felt so vulnerable at that admission. At the truth, she's had to face her whole life.

"No. That's not true." Audrey softly says with a small smile.

"Gods, you're not going to try to tell me you love me? Are you?"

Audrey guffaws and catches her breath. "No, I would never love a villain. No offense."

"None taken," Uma says a little amused.

"So who do you think loves me?"

"Your fellow pirates? But one clearly doesn't just see you as his family."

Uma huffs. "Are you really getting started on this again?"

Audrey politely holds her hands up. "Look, I don't like to brag-" Uma laughs at that and Audrey glares before continuing. "but I'm quite the expert on dating. And I think you should consider the fact that Harry might want to date you."

Uma has a flashback to when Harry jokingly propositioned himself to be Uma's first date. It was just a joke. A line said that was soon forgotten afterward.

Uma shakes the thought of Harry from her head.

"I can't ever imagine dating, Harry." Uma lies, and it's such an obvious lie that Uma feels shame. Usually, she's able to hide her true feelings. Hide the double meanings in her words.

Uma stares at her wrist that feels so naked without the bracelet with the red bead. She remembers the game Audrey and her played earlier. She counts to ten and makes a wish.

"You sure about that?"

Before Uma gets a chance to answer they both hear the sound of wheels hitting the dirt road. They can't see the bus yet but they know it's coming. Uma's wish had come true.

Their conversation changes to their anticipation about going back to Auradon prep. The bus is finally in their line of vision. Audrey gets up first and Uma feels glued to the rock she's sitting on.

It didn't dwell on her earlier but Fairy Godmother could try to use Uma leaving the bus as an excuse to put her in detention or worst try to send her back to the Isle of the Lost. Uma fiddles with her necklace nervously.

The bus stops but Fairy Godmother's not the first one off of it. Harry is. His hair is sticking up a little probably from anxiously stroking his fingers through it. He looks at Uma in relief and runs to where she sits.

He says her name like it's a lost treasure that after years of searching he finally found. Uma finds herself getting up from the rock she's sitting on and runs into Harry's arms. He's surprised at first but he wraps her into a tight hug.

Uma pulls away first. "Why didn't you tell me you found my bracelet?"

She gives Harry a cold stare but he looks unaffected by it.

"Why didn't you tell me you lost it in the first place?"

"I don't know," Uma admits, she grabs the sides of Harry's opened vest. And then she places her head on his chest.

Harry lets a distressed expression come on his face but he chases it away as he looks down at Uma. "Please, don't leave me again," Harry begs.

Uma breaks down into pieces. Harry takes a bracelet off his wrist and then slips it onto Uma's. "This belongs to you." He whispers.

Uma moves backward and glances at her wrist. She felt whole. Not like little pieces put together but a whole being once again. "Thank you." She says, gazing down at the bracelet. She pokes at the red bead that represented Harry. The piece of him that will always be with her.

Fairy Godmother whistles bringing Uma, Harry, and Audrey's attention to her. "Everyone on the bus now."

Harry slides his arm around Uma's back and they start walking to the bus together. Audrey does too but she's a little behind Harry and Uma. She speeds up a little and whispers something in Uma's ear.

"Are you really sure he doesn't like you?" She teases, earning a glare from Uma.

Uma couldn't even answer because Audrey quickly skips away leaving Harry and Uma by themselves. Harry asks Uma what Audrey said but Uma waves it off. Telling Harry it was just frivolous princess talk that Uma hopes she'd never understand.

Harry laughs. Uma could feel the red bead on her bracelet pulse in response. Or was that her own pulse speeding up. No… it had to be the bracelet.

Uma knew it wasn't the bracelet at all. Knew that it was her heart deceiving her once again. Her heart was clearly confused by her and Harry's game. A game Uma is starting to realize they're much too old to play.

But Uma doesn't push Harry's arm off of her, she lets him lead her onto the bus. Fairy Godmother stops them before they have a chance to start making their way back to their seat. She tells Harry he can sit but he refuses to leave Uma's side.

Fairy Godmother sighs, knowing it was useless to get Harry to follow any directions. She eyes Uma to tell Harry to leave, knowing that Harry only seemed to follow orders when they come from his captain which wasn't always true. But Uma wasn't about to inform all of Auradon about that.

"We'll be talking about your punishment later." Fairy Godmother says to Uma earning a glare from Harry.

"I told you she was just looking for her bracelet!" Harry says ready to start a scene.

Fairy Godmother doesn't respond to Harry, she just starts shooing them both to their seats. Harry readies himself to say more but Uma tells him to chill and they both head to their seats and sit down.

Harry starts a conversation with Uma as the bus starts up again. And as he speaks Uma can't help but wonder if Audrey's words were true. So her words push out like the wind and their long played game is pushed out to sea.

The only thing left are the pieces. Pieces on a board that Uma hopes isn't filled with holes.

A.N. I wanted to write an Audrey positive fic with her bonding with Uma but somehow ended up with this. I don't even know what happened or how this got so long. Well, I hope you guys like this. And if anyone has some Audrey one-shot suggestions I'm open to them. I really want to write a great Audrey fic right now. Thanks for reading!


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